Daniel Cormier: “Josh Barnett is a Tougher Guy Than Frank Mir”

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier will make his UFC debut against former UFC heavyweight titleholder Frank Mir on April 20 in the co-main event of the UFC on Fox 7 fight card.

The two were previously scheduled to fight for Strikeforce on Nov. 3, 2012, but an injury forced Mir out of the bout.

“He’s a very strong guy, a physical guy, a guy that has accomplished a ton in this sport. He is very experienced and dangerous. Outside of that, I respect him, but I’m very excited to get in the cage with him,” said Cormier about Mir in a recent interview with former MMAWeekly.com Radio co-host Frank Trigg.

The Cormier (11-0) defeated former UFC heavyweight titleholder Josh Barnett in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finals in May 2012, and feels Barnett was more dangerous to him than Mir is.

“Personally, I think Josh Barnett actually is a little more dangerous to me than Frank Mir because he’s a little faster. Josh doesn’t seem to get as tired as Frank has shown to get in fights, and he’s faster. Frank is a big guy that probably hits harder, but he doesn’t seem to have that explosive speed to actually go into his combinations,” said Cormier.

“Josh has shown that he’s a little more capable of getting takedowns in the fights. Frank has taken people down, but Frank has won a lot of fights off of his back. Frank is obviously better off of his back. I think Josh is limited to leg locks and stuff off of his back where Frank can throw up armbars. Frank can Kimura you. Frank can do a lot of different things off of his back. When putting them next to each other, I think they’re both great fighters. I truly do believe for me, personally, that Josh Barnett is a tougher guy than Frank.”

As the saying goes, styles make fights, and the former Olympic wrestler believes his style is going to pose some issues for Mir in their upcoming fight.

“It’s all styles. I think in terms of styles, with the athleticism and everything, my ability to move around the cage, my cardio, that’s probably what Frank’s going to have the biggest problems with, my athleticism, my speed, and I’m not going to get tired. I train hard. I train like a wrestler. I’m going to be in shape and I’m going to be ready to go come Saturday night.”